Sword Art Online!
by Hakuna-fuckin-Matata
Summary: In the year 2022, Snix, a solo player who had the luck-of-the-draw to play the beta version, and the many other players of Sword Art Online (SAO) are trapped inside of a game, unable to logout; the only way to live is to win. Death in-game means death in the real world; There are 100 floors and they have to clear each floor to move on. Can she do it on her own? Full Summary inside
1. World of Swords

Welp! This is one of the reasons why I haven't been posting a lot of chapters in a week like I normally do. Lol. This fic will be all Glee in the Sword Art Online universe. It is mainly Dantana with a little bit of other Santana pairings. Mainly Dantana though. and many friendships and yada yada yada. This will be a two part story so yay for that! Lol. It'll follow the show's storyline but I will add or change some stuff here and there. :) Hope you guys enjoy it. It'll have Victorious characters in here too but they won't really have a big role in here since it's mainly glee, so i won't be putting it as a crossover story. Unless you guys want me to.

I had to do a little homework to try to get this right so I can write the story better. I hope you guys can follow with the characters and everything. I don't own Sword Art Online or Glee. It would be pretty bad ass if we could all just own these shows so we could write them our way. Haahah. This chapter is kinda lengthy because its the first chapter and it explains most of the things you need to know on how the things in the fic work, and gets the story going. I hope you guys like it. Enjoy!

**Full Summary:In the year 2022, Snix, a solo player who had the luck-of-the-draw to play the beta version, and the many other players of Sword Art Online (SAO) are trapped inside of a game, unable to logout; the only way to live is to win. Death in-game means death in the real world; tampering with or prolonged power outages to the Nerve Gear, the gear that simulates in-game character control by redirecting brain signals, also means death. Will Snix be able to clear the game with the help of the many people she meets in this game? Or will it be too much for her than she expected when things happen unexpectedly for her? **

* * *

Chapter One

It was the year 2022 and humanity had finally developed a Virtual Reality Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game, or VRMMORPG for short. On November 6, Sword Art Online, the highly anticipated and renowned online fantasy game of the year, had already sold exactly ten thousand copies in its first batch, with players forming huge and long lines at every game store four days before the sale had even begun. Only a thousand of those players were lucky enough to be beta testers for the game, meaning that they had one month period to try the game out. The closed beta went from August to September of 2022, and Sword Art Online was praised as an incredible experience, and a must have, despite the difficulty of the game since the beta testers had only reached up to the tenth floor out of the one hundred floors the game had. The game used a console called The NerveGear, which was the first generation of FullDive Technology, made by the creator of SAO, Sue Sylvester, and was first released in May 2022. FullDive was the act where a player uses the tehnology, The NerveGear, to fully immerse their consciousness in a virtual reality. How it worked, was the player put the NerveGear helmet on their heads, and it would completely control the player's consciousness by redirecting the signals the brain would send to the body, and send its own waves to stimulate the five senses. It also had its own battery source, as well as high frequency electromagnetic microwaves transmitter.

It was almost one in the afternoon, and many players were anxiously waiting for it to be one because the Sword Art Online officially started its server service at that time. There was one fifteen year old girl at that time, watching the news. She noticed she had five more minutes before the server started, so she turned her tv off, and put on the NerveGear over her head. Before she plugged it in, she heard a knock at her door and a voice from the other side. "I'm leaving to Glee practice now sister!" The girl didn't say anything, and plugged in the gear to her monitor and layed on her bed. She let a small smirk fall on her face as she saw on the upper left side of the helmet's screen that there was only one more minute to go. Once it was one, she turned the NerveGear, and said, "Link, start!" The screen of the NerveGear went black, and a whole bunch of links connected and let her pass until a few words popped into the screen. She mentally moved the cursor to saved avatar, and clicked on her beta-version avatar, "Snix," and was then entered into the online virtual world of McKinley after The NerveGear finished calibrating her virtual body.

Snix found herself in the main town of the First Floor, the Starting Town, or other known as, The Town of Beginnings. She smiled as she rose looked down at her gloved hands and fist bumped into the air. "I'm back bitches!" She yelled in excitement, causing a few players to look at her in amusement and excitement as well. She walked over to the fountain that was in the center of the are and smiled as she saw her reflection. Her hair was in a bun and she was wearing some black pants with a white long sleeved shirt, covered by a vest like armor, and black combat boots. and She then turned around and began to run around, through the city's central market, and headed towards the city gate until she heard someone calling after her. She stopped running and turned around to see a bald headed boy leaned over, panting. "Holy shit you run fast man. Hold on. Give me a second. Phew!" He panted. "Before you try to flirt with me, I'll tell you know that I'm a full blown lady lover." She tells the guy. Once he caught his breath, he stood up and smirked at Snix. "Okay, thanks for the heads up. Man, you move around like you've been here before. You were one of the beta testers, right?" The guy asked. Snix hesitated a bit before answering and said, "Well, yeah actually."

"Oh man, that's so cool bra. You gotta help me out. I'm a total noob at this game!"He said, walking up to Snix. Snix took a step back and laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her head. "Well, it's not that easy." She was taken aback when the guy placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her pleadingly. "Oh come on man, well, girl. Please? I'm the lady's man and The Saw in my neighborhood, but here the name's Saw! Nice to meet ya!" He said. Snix laughed nervously. She looked at him for a few seconds and figured he was a nice guy and smiled at him. "Well, my name is Snix." She said. Saw smiled at her and followed after her when she signaled for him to follow her. They headed towards the outskirts of the city, to a grassy field, where there were a few level one monsters around.

After teaching him the basics, Snix went on to teaching him how to fight. While fighting a level one wild boar, Saw struggles to kill it because of his wild swings and grows frustrated. He noticed how Snix looked at him in amusement and growled out. "Aurgh! This is bullshit dude! I can't kill it man! I'm a hopeless case Snix. If only this boar would stay still man." Snix threw her head back and let out a laugh. She then jumped of the boulder she was sitting on and picked up a rock. She looked at Saw as he got ready to strike the boar, but was too slow and the boar hit him in the crotch. He fell back and cupped at his crotch and began to cry out in pain. "Ahh shit! That fucking hurt man!" He rolled over in pain while Snix looked at him with a bored expression. "You do realize we don't feel any pain since this is all virtual right?" She said. Saw suddenly stopped cursing and sat up. "Huh? Oh shit, you're right. I just feel this unpleasant feeling. Hahaha.. Sorry. It's a habit." He said. Snix rolled her eyes at him and turned to face the boar.

"All you need to do is use the necessary motion so you can then use a 'Sword Skill.'" Snix said, the rock beginning to glow as she gracefully threw her hand back and let the rock go. It hit the boar on its back, causing it to turn and look at her. It stomped its feet and snarled at her as the boar prepared itself to charge at her. Snix smirked and looked to see if Saw was watching. "Okay, listen and watch closely. Remember that your first move is the most important. If you do your initial motion right and activate a sword skill at the right time, the system pretty much guarantees it all the time that you'll always hit your target." She says. Saw looks at her and tilts his head in confusion.

"Initial… motion?" He asks. Snix chuckles and pulls out her sword. "Okay, let me make this easier for you to look at. Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home!" She says, blocking the tusks of the boar and kicking it back, making the boar run towards Saw. "Drive it, home? Saw asks to himself. He snaps his attention to the boar when he suddenly knows what Snix is saying and lifts his sword, ready to strike. It begins to glow and just as the boar makes its jump, Saw lets the movements flow and he charges for it, striking the boar across its middle. The boar disintegrates and a small screen shows up where it was, showing Saw how much experience and money he gained with the kill. "Alright! I did it!" He cried in accomplishment. Snix chuckled and walked to Saw. "Congratulations." She said, high fiving him. "That was nice, but that boar was probably as weak as slimes are in other games." Snix tells him. Saw takes a step back and looks surprised at her.

"Holy crap! I thought that thing was like a mid-level boss or something!" He says. Snix turns around to look at the view and smirks. "As if!" She then places her sword back in its sheath, that's hanging on her back. She turns around when she hears Saw's amusement as he activates a sword skill in the air. "Addictive isn't it?" She asks him. Saw smiles and takes a few more swings in the air again before looking at her again. "So these skills… there's a ton of them like blacksmithing and stuff… right?"

Snix turns her attention back to him and nods. "Uhuh… I heard the game has an unlimited number of them… all except for magic though." Saw stops swinging his sword and smirks. He glances over to Snix, who's still watching him and chuckles. "An RPG without magic, huh? That's a bold decision man!" He says, activating a sword skill one final time before putting his sword back in its own sheath. "So what do you think? It's fun to be able to move your body around as you fight right?" She asks him. He nods at her and looks around. "Well how about we keep going so you can learn more?" She suggests. Saw fist pumps and jumps in front of her. "Hells yeah, man!"

* * *

The sun was already setting and Saw and Snix where sitting by a cliff with an amazing few of the Town of Beginnings and the castle of McKinley. "This is insane. We're inside a video game man! Makes me be glad I was born when I was, you know?" Saw says, leaning back on his hands to look at Snix, who was standing a few feet away from him. "Calm down man, it's not that big a deal." She teases. Saw snorts at her and looks back down the cliff. "Is this the first time you're using FullDive and the NerveGear?" Snix asked. He smiled and lay back on the grass. "As soon as I saved up enough money, I went and bought all the hardware I needed so I could play SAO. Thank God I scored to buy one of the ten thousand copies. Guess you can say I was pretty lucky. Although, you ma'am are ten times as lucky to get it for beta testing." Saw said. Snix crossed her arms and only hummed in response. Saw sat up again and looked at her, making her look back at him. "Dude, you were one of the only thousand to get it before any of us!" He says. Snix scratched the back of her head as she then thought about it. "Hmm… I guess I was pretty lucky." She says absentmindedly.

Saw smiles and leans back again. "Hey, if it's okay, can I ask how far you made it in the beta?" He asked. Snix frowned and thought about it for a while before answering him. "Uhm, two months and I guess up to Floor Eight… but now I think I can get there and farther up easy!" She smiles, looking at the castle. Saw looks thoughtful for a minute before smiling at her. "Sounds to me like you're really into this Snix."

Snix only chuckled and pulled out her sword. "Yeah, you can say that. During the beta test, SAO was the only thing on my mind… day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go… and even though it's a virtual world, "she says, looking at her sword seriously, "I feel more alive here, than I ever did in the real world." She giggled when she realized how she sounded. She closed her eyes and put back her sword in place. "Anyway, you want to go do some more hunting?" She offers. Saw sits up on his knees and looks at her excited. "Aw, you know it! But the thing is, I'm really hungry. I need to log off." He says. Snix laughs at him and walks over to him.

"Too bad the food you eat here only gets rid of your hunger virtually." Saw then stood up and smirked at her as Snix placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah, for reals! That's why I ordered a pizza before signing on to get delivered by five thirty!" Snix chuckled at him as the made their way down the cliff. She didn't think she'd make any friends on the first day of SAO. "Wow, you're so prepared." Snix said. Saw noticed how she got a bit disappointed and stopped them by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, after this, I don't know what you're doing after but uh, I'm gonna go meet up with some people later on. If you want to tag along with me and come hang with us." He offers. Snix looks shocked at him before frowning and looks down. "No? It's cool if you don't want to. I can introduce you to them some other time if you want to." Snix gives him a sad smile before continuing walking down the cliff. "Yeah, thanks." She tells him.

Saw smiles at her and nudges her shoulder. "If anyone needs any thanking, it's you. I'm the one who should thank you for teaching me all those techniques and leveling me up a bit. I promise I'll pay you back sometime in the real world and treat you to some lunch or something." He said. "But seriously Snix, thanks for everything. Ima log off now, so I'll see you around I guess." He says, offering his hand to Snix. Snix smiles at him and shakes his hand. "If there's anything else you want to know, just message me man." She tells him. She then turns around and starts to walk away when she hears Saw question himself. She looks back and sees him staring at his menu list. "Where'd the log out button go?" She hears him say. _Noob_. She thinks to herself before saying, "it should be on the bottom right corner." She waits for Saw to find it when he tells her that it's not there. She walks behind him and brings up her menu screen. "It should be on the bottom of the menu screen. It says, 'log out- huh?" She notices that her screen too, didn't have the log out option. "See? Not there." Saw tells her annoyingly. Snix thinks for a bit and scrolls around her menu options.

"It's probably some game bug or something since it's the first day SAO launched and a lot of people are online. The server people are probably freaking out or something. You will too." Snix tells him, pointing at her digital time on screen and showing him it was five minutes before five thirty. Saw then groans and puts his hands on his head. "Oh my god! My triple meat pizza with hot wings and cheesy bread on the side!" He cries. Snix rolls her eyes at him and sighs. She then crosses her arms and leans on one leg more than the other. "Why don't you just call the game master?" She suggests. Saw stops his crying and looks at her before looking at his screen again. "I did that already and nothing's happening. He won't pick up or anything. Isn't there another way to log off or something?" He asks. Snix leans back and thinks for a minute, trying to remember if there was any other way to log off or not. Realizing there wasn't, she sighed and closed her eyes. "No. If a player wanted to log off from SAO, the only way to do it is through the menu screen." She tells him. Saw groans again and begins to pace around impatiently. "You mean we have to wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?" He asks angrily.

Snix sighed again and nodded. "And before you say it, you can't just pull the NerveGear off your head either because it has some chip that connects from the back of the helmet that intercepts any signals you send to your real body so they can be transmitted here." She explains. Saw sighs in defeat and crosses his hands. "Daamit…" He mumbles. "The only other way is if someone from the real world takes the NerveGear off of us." Snix adds. Saw groans and looks at Snix. "Well I live alone!" He cries out. Snix sighed and give him a sorry look. "I got a mom and a sister. They'll probably realize by dinner tim-" "You got a sister? How old is she? What she's like?" Saw asks excitedly. Snix had to take a few moments and stepped back from his persistence. "Uhh… she's into show choir and hates games. She's totally not your type man! She wouldn't date a gamer so just-" "Who cares man, if you got a si- OHHHHH Fucckk!" Saw falls back when Snix knees his crotch. She glares at him bored as he stops from crying out and looks sheepishly at her. "Oh right. I don't feel pain here if I get kicked in the balls." He says. Snix rolls her eyes and looks around. "Get serious Saw. Don't you think this is weird?" She asks. He calms down and stands back up, looking serious all of a sudden. "Yeah It is, but we gotta wait for them to fix the bug." He says.

Snix looks up at the sky and thinks to herself. "It's not just a bug though. If the developers don't fix it soon, and if we can't log out, it'll cause some serious problems with the game. I wonder if the server people even know what's going on. They can just cut off the servers from there so we can sign off. Why haven't they made an announcement?" She asked. Just then, the bells of the McKinley Castle began to ring, and the two found themselves back in the Town of Beginnings. Both looked around in confusion as they noticed all the other players were there in the plaza too.

_So the developers used a forced teleportation to bring all the players back here. _Snix thought to herself. She stayed by Saw's side as they listened on everyone questioning what was going on, when all of a sudden, a red tab appeared in the sky that read: WARNING. Then, more red tabs appeared, making the sky go red, and they all read WARNING, or SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT. Blood like substance began to seep from the sky and a giant, robed, faceless figure appeared before them. "Hello, and welcome to my world." The figure said. _What do they mean by that? _Snix thought, her attention at the mysterious figure. "I am Sue Sylvester, creator of the Nerve Gear, and creator of this world. Welcome to Swords Art Online." A whole bunch of gasps were heard and everyone began to murmur around between themselves. "Now, most of you have noticed by now that something appears to be missing from your menu options, the log out button. While some of you think this is a bug, let me tell you maggots, this is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug. This is the way I designed the game. As of now, no one can log out from the game." Sue said. A whole bunch of people began to yell in protest and others began to walk away but an invisible wall kept them from leaving the plaza. "Hey man let us go! This is so not cool!" "I have a meeting in an hour!" "Quit playing around!" Players were yelling. Snix stayed quiet and looked around, seeing everyone angry but also scared.

"It's okay. We can just wait around for someone to pull the Nerve Gear off of us." someone said. Sue seemed to hear this because she then spoke up, silencing everyone's protests. "Pulling the Nerve Gear won't work. If it is forced off, the Nerve Gear will simply send a lot of electromagnetic waves all at once into your brain, meaning, instant death. I had made this announcement once the server started, that it could not be removed. A few family and friends have ignored my warnings, and have removed the Nerve Gear from some players. As of now, there are two hundred and thirteen less players in SAO. Another thing, there is no way you can revive in the game. So if you die here, the Nerve Gear will also send electric waves into your brain. So if you die here, you die in the real world." Sue said.

"What?! You gotta be kidding... She can't do that." Saw mumbled. Sue then rose her hand, bringing up several web pages, showing them the news from the real world, and showing that what she said was true. Snix's eyes went wide and she looked down in thought. _This isn't a game anymore. If this really is Sue Sylvester, then what she's saying is true. If I die in this world, I'll die in the real world too... _"There's one more thing before this announcement is over. I have given all of you a gift, per say. You can find it in your items." Sue tells them. Snix brings up her menu and taps on her items, seeing that there is something there. _A mirror? _She questions herself. Right as she taps it, she hears people gasp as a blinding white light glows around them, and soon enough, on everyone else. When the light fades, she stands there, blinking for a few seconds when she hears, "Snix, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sa... who are you?" She asks when she turns around, seeing a tanned guy, probably a few years older than her, with a mo-hawk looking at her worriedly. "I'm me... who are you?" He asks in response. Snix then reaches for her mirror and looks at it, realizing that her avatar is now her real self. Her hair was no longer in a bun but was flowing down. Her light skin was tanned and she was slightly taller. She looked around and noticed that other players had changed appearance and some players were masquerading themselves as guys when they were girls, and vice versa. She then looked at the guy looking at her and the both looked at each other in shock. "You're Snix?!" "You're Saw?!" They both exclaimed at the same time. "How come I'm looking like the real me? I get that the Nerve Gear covers our whole face, but how did it know my body height and and weight type correctly?" Snix asked. Saw snapped his fingers and said, "The Nerve Gear calibrated our bodies. You remember when you first start the NerveGear, it asks you to touch yourself all over your body?" He says, touching his elbows and knees. "Oh yeah... you're right." Snix tells him. "But why?" Saw asks.

Snix sighs and shrugs. "I think she's about to tell us." She says. looking back at who is known as Sue Sylvester. "You're all probably wondering why. Why would the one and only Sue Sylvester do this? The answer is pretty simple. To control the minds of people through a virtual reality, and make it my own. The only way you can get out of this game, is if you find the First Floor's boss and defeat it. Head on to the Second Floor dungeon and defeat that boss, all the way till you reach the One Hundredth floor of McKinley Castle." "That's impossible! The betas never even made it that far high up!" Saw yelled. "If you can find all the floor's dungeons and defeat their bosses and clear all One Hundred Floors, you may be able to leave. Until then, you are all trapped in SAO. That is all for this tuturial, and the end of my announcement." Sue said. The sky began to clear away as Sue Sylvester disappeared.

Everything went silent for a while, not sure if what they just heard was really the truth, or just a lie. Then, everyone began to yell in fright, and people began freaking out and cry. Snix snapped her attention toward's Saw, took action, and grabbed his hand. "Saw! Come on!" She yelled, running out of the plaza and dragging him with her. She led him to one of the empty streets in the town's central station and stopped when she was sure no one was near at all. "We need to go to the next village. If what Sue said is true, then we'll need to level up as quick as we can. There are only a limited number of resources here that will be wiped clean by all the other players. It's not that far, and I might be in level one right now, but I can easily get us there since I remember the path from the beta testing." Snix tells him. Saw looks at her thoughtfully before giving a sigh. "Thanks for what you're trying to do Snix, but I have a few friends that had waited for three days in line, just to get this game. Their back at the plaza right now, and I just can't leave them." He told her honestly. Snix looked down in thought and let out a quiet grunt. _If it were just Saw and me, I could get us there easy... but two or more joining us, hell, even with one more that us two would be difficult to protect with my current skills. If Saw or one of his friends were to die, it would be my fault since I'm the one who suggested to leave. I can't have that though, but I can't stay here either. We need to fig- _"You go on ahead Snix. Saw said, noticing her worries over a guy she just met. If he were alone, he would have happily joined Snix and gone with her to the next village.

But he had his friends back there and he knew that wasn't right to just leave them. "I'm going to go back and get my friends. With all the things you taught me today, I can help them out and we can get by. Don't worry about me and some people you don't even know. I appreciate what you were trying to do for me though." He tells her. Snix looks at him sadly and sighs. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asks. Saw chuckles and puts his hands on his waist. "Yeah, I'll be fine. The last game I played in, I ran a guild! We'll be fine Snix." He reassured her. She still looked hesitant and sad to leave but she slowly turned around and began to walk away. After a few steps, Saw called after, and she slightly turned her head to look at him. "You stay okay alright! Don't you dare die." He tells her. She gives him a sad smile and nods, turning to walk away again but stops again. "Snix!" She fully turns around and looks at him this time. His sad smile turns into a playful smirk and he chuckles. "You know, you look so much better like this with that tan you got! Thought you were an albino or something with your avatar." He teases. Snix lets out a small chuckle and shakes her head. "Yeah, and you look so much better with that unkempt face you have now! Suits you better!" She teases back.

They both smile and look at each other's eyes. Relaying promises that they'll stay alive to meet up again. She then turns around and begins running down the street. Before she leaves the city gates, Snix turns around one more time and sees Saw wasn't there anymore. She looks down in sadness before running off out of the city. She runs down the path with a determined look in her face, as she runs into a wolf. It growls at her and charges at her as she starts to run towards it, pulling out her sword. _If I die here, I'll die in the real world. I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen. I'll level up as fast as I can, and come back for Saw and his friends the next time I see him. I can do this. I can beat this and survive! _She let out a battle cry as her sword began to glow. Right when the wolf jump, she swung her sword, instantly killing the wolf. She didn't even look back to see how much experience points or money she got from the wolf, but she continued running. _I will pass SAO._

* * *

So what do you guys think? Should I continue it or not? I won't be using most of their actual names until after a while, because that's the point in SAO. No one really knows anyone's real names, unless they know each other in the real world. I will be giving you guys clues though to who is who. I'm sure you guys already know who Snix is. Lol. Do you guys know who Saw is? I'll be using nicknames they have in Glee, to be their user names for SAO. So who calls themselves The Saw in Glee? Lol. There will be a few that will have obvious hints to their names but we'll see if you guys get them right. If you want me to keep going that is. Lol. :) Review or pm me if you're too shy to leave reviews to let me know what you guys think and if I should continue this or not. :)

And to those who are reading my For The Love Of A Daughter fic, if there are any of you reading this, I am sorry I haven't updated that story. My mind just isn't into it right now. Just be patient with me you guys. Thanks!


	2. Beater

So I was reading the first chapter and I think it wasn't enough for you guys to decide if I should keep this going or not, so I'll be posting one more chapter, and then I'll wait a while and see if people want me to write this. Like I said in the previous chapter, the glee characters wont be using their original names until waaayyyy later on in the story. So let's see if you guys can guess who's who. Hahaha. More characters are introduced into this chapter so be prepared. :)

* * *

Chapter Two

_It's been about a month since Sword Art Online launched and we've been imprisoned inside this game, and two thousand players have already died. Their departed names have been crossed out from the 'Monument of Life' in the Town of Beginning. What's worse is that it's been a month already, and the first floor still hasn't been cleared. No one had been able to find the bosses dungeon during the month went by. They moved the dungeon from when I was a beta, so I couldn't find it either. Today, they made an announcement, saying the dungeon has finally been found, and some guy, Wheels, has called for a meeting in the town center of Tolbana._

**December 2, 2022**

Snix made her way into her way into the town center and climbed up the steps and sat in the mid section. She saw a few other players going in and sitting with others already. Since she left the Town of Beginnings, Snix had leveled up as much as she could, and changed her attire a bit. She still sported black plants but added a black belt that had a large silver buckle. She switched her white long sleeved for a black v necked shirt now. She still wore her black combat boots but customized them with silver plates to protect her shins and wore black fingerless gloves. Finally, she wears a black strap that goes over her right shoulder and under it to wrap around her left side, that holds her sword, Elucidator.

She looked back down to the front when she saw 'Wheels' step up, gaining everyone's attention. "Okay everyone, listen up. We had a group of players doing recon last night, and it appears that they finally found the boss room in a labyrinth! I know we've lost a large number of players already, but if we work together, we will be able to do this! To be able to attack this boss and defeat it, I ask of you to join groups of six, so we can switch during the battle. Whichever group gives the finishing blow, will keep the items and money. Is everyone okay with that?" He asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and began talking within themselves to form their own groups. Snix, however, began to panic when she realized everyone had joined a group, except for one more person that is. She notices a hooded girl sitting alone, just as she as, and makes her way over to her. She tries to peek at her face but can't, due to the hood covering her face. "So you got left out too huh?" Snix asked, trying to make conversation with the mysterious girl.

The girl didn't bother looking up or moving from her spot but still answered Snix. "No. It's just that it seems as if everyone knows each other. I don't really know anyone here." She tells Snix. Snix hums in response and looks around. All the other players talk casually among each other as if they already knew each other. "So, do you want to be in a group with me? I mean, just for the battle since it'll be hard if you try to go solo." Snix says. She doesn't get an answer from the mystery girl but sees her doing something in her menu screen. A few seconds later, she receives a group request and she clicks on it. **Unkown player would like to form a group with you. Accept or Deny?**

Snix accepts the request and looks back up to the girl, and sees her HP bar next to her, as well as her user name. _Fletcher..._ She thinks to herself as she reads the name. Just then, a player comes running into the meeting, interrupting Wheels from continuing the meeting. "Stop right there! I have something to say!" They guy yelled angrily. Wheels stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Karofsky, calm down. What is it?" He asked. Karofsky grunted and took a couple steps forward. "Okay, so there's something that needs to be done. It's about the Beta Testers!" He spat angrily. At this, Snix snapped her full attention to the guy. Karofsky growled and continued, "Because of them, we lost so many players already! They left all us beginners on our own and look what happened?! Some of have died already! In fact, I'm pretty sure there are some beta testers in here too! So come on out! You should all give up your money and items in compensation for their deaths. If you don't , how do we know we can trust you!" He yelled.

Snix looked conflicted at this but before she could say or do anythin, a really tall guy had already stood up and walked up to Karofsky. "So you think it's the Beta Testers' fault that two thousand players have already died?" He asked. Karofsky grunted and nodded. The tall guy shook his head and stood next to Wheels, facing the crowd. "If anything, I think we need to thank the testers. The name is Finson, and I don't really believe that they're to be fully blamed for the deaths of the fallen players. We should thank them because they have shared their knowledge of the game with this broker's manual." Finson said, pulling out a small book. "Not only did they make this manual, but they shared it with everyone." He said. Wheels stepped up and nodded his agreement, pulling out his own book.

"He's right. You also all have a copy of this book. This book tells us about the boss we will be facing. The boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord and he has minions surrounding him, called the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. When we get the boss on the last HP bar, he switches his weapon from a heavy sword, to a Talwar, and changes combat style. Now, today we take a rest. We face the boss tomorrow at ten in the morning!" He instructed, dismissing the meeting.

* * *

It was nighttime when Snix spotted mystery girl, who she now knew as Fletcher. When the meeting had ended, she had turned back to talk to her about their strategy, but when she did, Fletcher wasn't there anymore. Snix had looked for her all day and had finally found her by a bench, eating alone. Snix sadly smiles and goes to sit next to her. Feeling as Snix sat a little too close for her comfort, Fletcher scoots a bit to the other side. "It took me a while to find you. I'm glad I did though. Here, do you want some? It taste really good with the bread." Snix said, taking a jar out. Curious, Fletcher tapped the jar, and got a bit of the cream and put it on the bread. She took a tentative bite, tasting the cream with a bread. Snix continued to slowly eat her bread, but watched the other girl from the corner of her eye. She smiled when Fletcher gulped down the rest of the bread with cream. A few moments of silent went by as Snix finished up her meal when Fletcher finally spoke up. "Thanks. It was pretty good." She said. Snix smiled and nodded.

"It's nothing. I got it as a reward from a quest in one of the villages before here. If you want, I can tell you how to get it." Snix says. She stops when she sees Fletcher shake her head and look down. "No thanks. I didn't come to this town to try and enjoy new food. I came here because I didn't want to lose who I am and be myself. If I would've stayed back in the Town of Beginning, all I would have been doing was just sit and wait... and I don't want that. Even if I die, I don't want to lose the game. If that makes sense." Fletcher softly said. Snix though for a moment, her hand twitching a bit. She wanted to reach out and take Fletcher's hand into her own, to comfort her, but thought otherwise. Instead, she sighed and turned her body a bit to face Fletcher. Fletcher, still wearing her hood to hid her face, turned to look at Snix too. "I don't want a party member to die, and I'll do whatever I can to avoid that. Just try not to die at all." Snix said.

* * *

It was already ten and there were a number of groups standing in front of a large door. "Okay, I will be leading the battle. We will be switching so make sure you stay alert. Groups one, three, and four, you will be the first to attack. Groups two and five, you will be the defense." He said, as the door was open to reveal a demon over two meters, muscular, covered in blue-grey fur, with bloodthirsty and copper-red eyes. Surrounding him, were about six red demi human creatures with long thin ears and long thick tails. "Group six and seven, you'll be our support and take down those Sentinels!" Wheels yelled, urging the first three groups to charge with him. Snix and Fletcher faced each other before running behind them, and yelled in unison, "Right!" As Wheels led the raiding party and gave out commands to attacking and blocking the boss, Snix and Fletcher ran for the nearest Sentinel, that was aiming to attack another member of a group. Snix was the first to reach it and blocked its sword. She pushed back against the creature and swung her sword, parrying its attack and kicked it away from the group. She noticed the other support group dealing with a few Sentinels and saw her own creature getting back up. "Switch!" She yelled, swingin her sword one more time, striking the creature in the shoulder.

Fletcher ran from behind and past her, sword in hand, and charged for the Sentinel. "Right!" She yelled out, easily killing the Sentinel. Snix stopped to look at Fletcher for a moment. _Woah... I thought she said she was new to this. Yet, she's really damn fast and I can barely keep up with her swords's movement. Just how strong is she really? _Snix thought to herself as she turned to kill another Sentinel.

As the boss's fourth and last HP bar went red, Wheels ordered everyone to stay back as he stepped out of his group and approached the boss alone. Snix noticed this as she fought another Sentinel and furrowed her eyebrows. _I thought the whole point was to attack it together. _She thought. She saw Wheels look back and smirk. Before Snix could think anything else, she saw Illfang draw a new weapon. She gasped and pushed back the Sentinel, letting Fletcher go for the kill. _That's not a Talwar! It's a Nodachi! That weapon was only used in the closed Beta! It's good for combo attacks! This is different from the open beta testing! It's a lot harder! _Snix thoughto herself. She blocked a Sentinel's sword and looked back to Wheels. "Wheels! Pull back! That's not a Talwar! It's a Nodachi! You can't face it alone!" She yelled, jumping back from the Sentinel and stabbing it, causing it to disintegrate. She was too late in warning him though, as the latter had already received a deadly combo from the boss's katana skills.

Wheel's body went flying back, and Snix was by his side in a few seconds. As his HP rapidly dropped to zero, Snix pulled out a potion and tried to give it to him, but Wheels rejected it. "It's okay. I'm a goner now." He told her. Snix tsked in response and glared at him with sadness in her eyes. "You're stupid. Why would you go at him alone?! You knew that wasn't a Talwar when you saw it, yet, you still went at it!" Snix cried in anger. Wheels only smiled as his body began to glow. "I was trying to go for the Last Attack bonus. I was a beta... just like you were... Before I disintegrate, promise me you'll kill this boss for everyone." He told her. Snix felt her eyes begin to water but she blinked them away and nodded just as Wheels disintegrated.

He then stood up, back towards the boss, as everyone just stared at him. The boss began to charge towards Snix, since she was the closest, and Fletcher cried out. "Look out!" Just as she did, Snix turned around and blocked Illfang's katana on time. She grunted as she pushed herself off and pushed back the demon. Without looking back, she called out, "Fletcher! Come on! Let's kill this damn bastard!" Not needing to be told twice, Fletcher quickly ran behind Snix and jumped over her, towards the boss. "Okay!" She hit Illfang a couple of times before landing, and ducked when she felt Snix behind her, as she pierced her sword through the demon's arm. It let out a cry in pain and anger and jumped back. Being the faster one, Fletcher ran towards it and made to strike the boss again, but failed to see Illfang raising its sword before her. Snix then yelled out, "Fletcher! Watch out!" Noticing at the last second, Fletcher dodged the attack before it could give her any damage, but still managed to destroy her cloak, revealing her face. Snix's eyes went wide and her voice failed her as she took in Fletcher's appearance for the first time.

Fletcher had long blonde with brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was wearing a dark red tunic with a lightweight breastplate and leather pants with boots up to her knees. She didn't have anymore time to be in awe, as Fletcher had called out to her. "Now, switch!" She yelled, blocking an attack from Illfang and hitting it once, leaving an opening for Snix, who took it. They continued this tactic a while until Snix made a mistake and got hit, slamming into Fletcher. They both roll a bit before Asuna gets up and sees Snix's HP went down half since she took most of the damage. She then saw the demon running to finish Snix off so she rose her sword, ready to block its attack as best as she could, when a battle cry was hear and Finson came from above her, blocking the attack and saving them from the final bow. Then, Saw joined him and swung his sword, making the demon boss to jump back. "We'll save you guys some time till you get back to full health!" Finson said. Fletcher nodded and helped Snix up.

"You okay?" Fletcher asked Snix worriedly. Snix looks up in determination and nods. "Yeah. Let's finish this." She tells her. They both nod in agreement and charge for Illfang. Saw sees this and he jumps back. "They're back up! Snix, finish that bastard!" He yells. Snix smirks and nods her agreement. Fletcher then jumps high in the air, while Snix runs towards the boss, confusing it on who to attack first. Fletcher then takes the opening and stabs her sword into his shoulder, and down its back. Having the final attack, Snix pierces her sword in the boss's stomach, and drags it up, cutting up the middle all the way to its face. Illfang then cried in pain, as it suddenly disintegrates, leaving a congratulations tab where it was. Everyone begins cheering as they have finally cleared the First Floor and can move on, while Snix is on one knee, panting, and looking at the bonus she recieved: **Coat of Midnight**. Fletcher and Finson stood behind her with smiles on their faces.

Everyone continued celebrating the win, that is until Karofsky yelled out. "Stop cheering!" He yelled in anger. Everyone went silent and looked at him confused. He didn't care though. His anger and eyes were focused on someone. " Wheels is dead! Why?! Why'd you let him die?! She let him die! She knew the boss's attack pattern and she didn't warn any of us! She was a beta tester! Who knows how many other beta testers are in here too!" He cried out in anger. Everyone began murmuring between each other as they then grew suspicious of each other. Fletcher and Finson shared wary looks. They didn't care if Snix was a beta tester but they knew this would cause problems for the other players. Remembering Wheel's last words, she gulped. Before Fletcher and Finson could speak up as they walked over to Karofsky, they turned around when they heard laughter. All heads turned back to see Snix was the one laughing.

"You're really stupid if you think I'm like those beta testers." She said. Everyone looked at her back, as she still had her back towards them, and continued. "I'm nothing like those newbies." She then turned around with a smirk on her face. "If anything, you guys are better than those newbies too! They didn't even know how to level up. I'm nothing like those other beta testers. I was the only beta to reach one all the way to Floor Ten, so I fought different monsters with higher katana skills than this one, and I know so much more than any information broker." She stated, smirk in place. Karofsky scowled at her and growled out, "That's so much worse than being a beta!" Others then started yelling their agreements with Karofsky towards Snix. "Yeah! You're a cheater!" "You were a beta!" "You're a beater!" They yelled out.

Snix then chuckled, silencing all the yelling. She opened her menu screen and went to her items. "A beta and a cheater... a beater huh? Yeah, I like that. So I'm a beater," she said, equipping the **Coat of Midnight**. A black trench coat with gray-lining going down the sleeves then appeared on her. "Now you won't confuse me with those beta testers." She said, walking to the portal that had opened after defeating the boss. As she was heading to enter, Fletcher had ran up to her. "Hey wait, how did you know my name? Back there, while we were fighting the boss, you called me Fletcher. How did you know?" She asked. Snix gave her a soft smile. "When you add someone to your group, or friend them, their name appears next to you. Just look at your interface for the party screen." She tells Fletcher. The blonde focused her eyes a little next to Snix's head, and noticed the HP bar with the name Snix above it, and her name and HP bar under. She then let out a small giggled and covered her mind.

"Your name is Snix... How silly of me! It was there the whole time and I didn't even notice!" She laughed. Snix chuckled and shook her head. She then faced the portal, and before walking into it, she said, "You'll be strong in the future Fletcher... if someone you trust ever asks you to join a guild, don't reject them. There's only so much a solo player can do... but if you're in a guild, especially a strong one, things will be easier and better." She opened her menu then and tapped on the party option. **Do you want to disband your party? **The screen read. Tapping yes, Snix said, "I'm dissolving our party. You don't need me anymore. You'll be just fine." She then stepped inside the portal and headed for Floor Two, unknowing that back in Floor One, Fletcher was already wondering when they'd meet again.

* * *

Okay how was this chapter you guys? Should I continue this or not? I will still be working on my other fics too so don't worry if those of you read them are worried about that. I probably won't post any more updates at all for this week, I apologize. But I will get back on em next week. :) Follow, leave reviews, pm me or whatever you guys. :)


	3. Red Nosed Reindeer

Okay, so I was told that two chapters was not enough so whatever. Here I am again! Lol. Now, I know the last two chapters were practically just like the show, I apologize. The first chapter was necessary to be like that though so you guys could understand how things worked in this story. The second chapter shouldn't have been too alike as in the show but oh well. I'll try to switch things up from now on. It'll have some things that happened in the show, I will say that, but they'll happen differently and the dialogue won't be as similar as in the show now. Notice the gap between dates. That's how you'll know how long they've been trapped in the game. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

_A few months had gone by, and Auntie Snix here finally leveled up a whole lot more. Hell yeah, I'm a fucking bad ass bitches! Unfortunately, there have been more deaths throughout the months, but not as many as when we first started. Now, since most players got the hang of how Sword Art works, the stronger players and friends have formed guilds and formed an assault team to go on, on the front lines to clear the floors. I'm in the assault team. I still work as a solo player, but it's not like people know who I am. Ever since we cleared the First Floor, I've been known as a beater, and not just any beater: The Black Swordsman or Satan. Satan... that's a funny one. But hell, I might as be one with the way I fight. Players know of a solo player who is at the top of assault team, but what they don't know, is that my avatar, holds that title. They just know the name given to me._

**April 8, 2023 11th Floor, Main Town-Taft**

It was a bright and sunny day, and Snix had decided to take a break from the front lines after a few months. She had decided to take it easy and go to the lower floors to relax, considering that she was in the high thirties with the assault team. She was walking on the outskirts forest by Taft, when she heard screaming and swords clashing. Snix used her advanced hearing skills to locate where the fight was at and ran to them, when she saw a group of seven players fighting off monsters. Most of their HP were red and they were cornered when she got there. Not wasting anymore time or before any player died, Snix pulled her sword out and quickly joined the fight, easily killing off the monsters. When she was done, she walked to the group and waited for them to heal. "Are you guys okay?" She asked them. A tall skinny guy stepped forward and smiled at her. "Yeah, thanks. We thought we were done for. Thanks for the save. I'm Chang, and this is our guild, The New Direction." Chang said. Snix nodded and shook his hand. They all stood next to Chang and looked grateful towards Snix. "I'm Snix, and it wasn't any problem. Really. It was a piece of cake." Snix said.

One of the girls jumped up and took her hand. "You gotta let us take you back to town to thank you. We'll treat ya! It's on us! The name is Sweet 'n' Spicy, but you can call me Sugar!" She said. Snix took a step back, a little surprised at the girl's way upbeat attitude. She laughed nervously and put her hands in front of her, shaking them as she shook her head. "No it's alright. I was just doing what any other player would've done!" Chang smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. Let us thank you. We'll buy you food back at the inn we stay at. They have pretty good food there." Chang insisted. Snix looked at the rest of the guild hesitantly. The all nodded their heads in agreement at what Chang said and smiled at her kindly. She then sighed and rubbed her temples. Guess she couldn't refuse them on this then. "Fine... one meal and that's it." She said. The guild cheered and then made their way out of the forest and back to town with Snix being dragged by Sugar. When they got back to town and into the inn, Chang and one of the other guys she met, who was known as Billy Crystal, went to the attendant and talked to him while the rest of the guild sat her down on the tables with them. "So thanks again for saving us. I'm Tay Chang, but you can just call me Tay. I don't know how you did it to save us. I'm not strong enough to go to the front lines." The girl said in a shy voice. Snix smiled at her and nodded. "So there's Boy Chang and Girl Chang. Alright cool, and again, it was nothing. Really! I'm sure if you put your mind into it, you can get in the front lines for your guild so they don't have to worry over you too much."

Sugar slammed her hands on the table, scaring everyone and shook her head. "It was everything! We could have died and you saved us! Tay needs to do some more leveling up. She's the weakest in our guild. So thank you! Anyways, this here is Flanagan, Zizes, and Lance Bass. By the way, Billy and and Lance are a thing, so you can't flirt with them." Sugar fake whispers. Everyone laughs at her and stand up when Billy and Chang come back with food and drinks in their hands. They quickly set up the table and hand out cups of drinks to everyone. Chang rose his cup up in the air, motioning for his guild to do the same, and turned to Snix. Snix sat there, a bit shy now, and fiddled with her cup as everyone did the same as Chang. "To Snix! For saving us!" He said. Everyone clinked their cups together and said the same and drank their drinks and started goofing off with each other. Snix let a small grin fall on her face as she saw how comfortable these players were with each other. She took a sip of her cup when Chang sat next to her.

He took a drink from his cup before speaking to her. "You know, we've wanted to join the front lines, but our level is still kind of low. We're between levels thirteen and eighteen. Most of the guilds and players on the assault team are well on their thirties! Are you in them? If it's okay for me to ask." Chang said. Snix sighed and pondered about it for a bit. She looked at her hidden Status bar and looked at his. He was on Level eighteen while she was in Level Forty. "No, I'm a solo player." Snix said. Chang's eyes went wide and looked at her incredulously. "Wow, a solo player?! You're pretty strong then. Can I ask what your level is?" He asked. Snix hesitated before answering. She wondered if they'd freak out if she told them who she really was. She chugged the rest of her drink and plastered on a fake smile. "I just got on Level twenty-four." She said. He looked surprised for a bit before standing up.

"Wow! You're pretty strong! Do you think you'd like to be on our guild? I promise you'd feel in place. Most of us know each other in the real world too. We all go to the same school and are part of our school's glee club. A few of us are also on the school's tech club too. What do you say though Snix? Do you want to join The New Directions?" He asked. By now, everyone in the guild was looking at her excitingly, hoping she'd say yes. _Maybe staying with them wouldn't be so bad. I mean, I've been soloing for some time now. It does get a little lonely if I'm being honest. _Snix thinks to herself. "Fine. I'll join you guys. Only until you guys no longer need me and are strong enough. I'll also help Tay level up too." Snix says. The guild begins to cheer and raise their glasses again for another toast. "To Snix!" They say. Snix half smirks and raises her own. "To The New Directions..."

* * *

**April 25, 2023**

A few weeks had went by and Snix had helped The New Directions level up quite a bit. Tay had done some leveling up too but she was still behind from her guild. So today, Snix had asked if she could take Tay on her own to help her level up some more. Chang agreed and there they were, the two girls on Floor Eighteen, inside a labyrinth. Snix was now in level forty-three, but of course, she kept that from the guild, and Tay was only in level sixteen. Most of the guild was already between twenty and twenty three. They were walking down a labyrinth when they were then surrounded by a few Killer Mantis that were probably level twenty monsters. Tay looked a bit apprehensive when she counted ten of them while they were only two. She took a step back, wanting to run away, but stopped when she saw Snix unsheathe her sword and take a step forward. "Don't be afraid Girl Chang. I'm here. I'll weaken them and you give them the final blow. They're level twenty monsters so these many should level you up at least three times if you make a kill chain." Snix informed, blocking one of the Killer Mantis's claw and charged at it.

Tay took a hesitant step forward and nodded when Snix looked back at her. She ran behind Snix, as the latter jumped over it, stabbing its back while moving to the next one. Tay would give the last two hits, killing the monster and moved on to the next. They were three down left when Tay was too slow in her strike and recieved a jab on her shoulder. She cried out and fell, not expecting the monster to move quickly. Snix looked back and noticed a Killer Mantis charging for Tay. She grit her teeth and killed off the one in front of her and began to run to Tay. "Dammit... Tay!" She yelled. Tay looked to Snix with fright when she received another blow. Her HP was now red. Just as she thought she was going to die, she sees Snix pierce her sword through the back of the Killer Mantis.

"Shit... I didn't think it would catch on to our strategy. I'm really sorry Tay." Snix said, pulling out a potion and giving it to Tay. Tay took it with shaky hands and drank the potion, her HP rising back to full health. She didn't say anything but instead, pulled Snix into a hug. "Thank you." She whispered. Snix was a bit taken by surprise by the hug but let the other girl hug her. She gave Tay a soft pat on the back and the other girl then let her go. The two then got up and looked at each other with relief, when a little screen popped up in front of Tay. "I leveled up three times. Just like you said." Tay said quietly. Snix nodded and looked around in case there were more monsters around. "Yeah, I think it's time we call it a day. I'll walk you back to Floor Fifteen. There's somethings I need to do." Snix tells her. Tay only hums in response and they make back their way to their current Floor they were staying at.

Once Snix was alone, she pulled out an ice crystal that could teleport her into another place, and teleported to Floor Thirty Seven. She walked around labyrinths and meadows and fought off monsters, earning money and experience, when down a hill, she saw another group of players taking on a herd of Demon Tigers. She stood there at the top of the hill for a while, watching the guys kill the Tigers off when she spotted someone she knew. _Is that..._ The guy thrust his sword through the Tiger across and looked up, spotting Snix. He smiled and turned his head to his friends. "Alright guys, you guys can take the rest of the bastards. I'll be right back!" He told them. Snix felt her heart jump in joy as the guy ran closer to her and she was able to finally see who it was. "Saw! It's been a while." She said. Saw smiled at her in a goofy way and nodded. "Yeah. It sure has. Told ya I would be okay. That's my guild over there. We added a few more people we met on the way. Wait, what's that icon on your status? You actually joined a guild? I thought you were a solo player man." Saw said.

Snix looked down in sadness as she remembered when she left him behind... when she left Fletcher alone too... Come to think of it, she remembered Fletcher told her she didn't know anyone back then. _I wonder if she's still okay... I hope she is. _She looked back at Saw with a sad smile, when a message icon appeared on in front of her. She looked at it confused when she saw it was from Chang. _What does Boy Chang want? _She wondered. She pressed the icon and let it open in front of her: **Snix, it's Chang. Tay is missing. We can't find her in the town so we'll be going into the labyrinths to search for her. If you find or see anything, please let me know. Thanks. **"I gotta go... later Saw..." Snix said, walking past him with a sad and now worried look. Saw turned and looked at her back as she walked away. "Damn... she still bummed about what happened? She needs to let that go..." He mumbled to himself._  
_

Snix went back down to Floor Fifteen and stopped at the main gates of the town. _Hmmm... where could Tay have run off to..._ She thought to herself. She opened her menu and went to her skills list and activated her 'Tracking Skill'. Her vision then turned gray as she looked around the town until she spotted yellow footprints with a label on top saying 'Tay.' She followed the footsteps down the street and stopped when she noticed that the footsteps led to the town church. "Why go in here Tay..." She asked herself, opening the door and going in. She kept following the steps down a corridor and up some stairs, until she spotted Tay sitting on the high tower. Snix sighed in relief and began to go join her. She didn't say anything when she got there and she sat at a distance from the girl, not wanting to discomfort her. The two stayed sitting for a while, just looking at the town and the sunset.

"I'm afraid to die..." Tay finally whispered. Snix slightly turned to get a glimpse of Tay but when she noticed that the girl was still looking down to the town, she turned back to it and waited for Tay to continue talking. "I'm scared I'll one day be a burden for you, Chang, and the rest of the guild and it'll cause someone to die. I don't want to lose any of you. I know you're strong Snix. You're a strong player, but you won't be around forever. You'll leave us one day It'll probably be soon too since most of the members of the guild are getting stronger. I don't know what level you're in, but I'm sure you're almost at the thirties since you're the strongest of us." Tay said. Snix closed her eyes and sighed. _Level Forty-Five as of today..._ She stayed quiet and leaned back. Tay took that as her cue to continue. "I guess, I'm just scared that you won't be around anymore. You are the one who saves me all the time if it isn't Chang." Tay finishes. Snix then sits up and takes Tay's hand in her own. "Look, I won't lie to you Tay. I won't stay with your guild forever, but I made a deal and a promise to myself and Boy Chang. I'd stay until you guys can stand on your own, that includes getting you to be as strong as they are. You will be someday, just don't think that you'll day. You can't think like that. Besides, you have Auntie Snix here! and Auntie Snix never lets a party member of hers die. You won't die okay? Even when I leave, you can always message me." Snix tells her. Tay smiles and nods her head. They stay up there for a few more hours until the sun is finally set, and then go back to their inn, where they join up with their guild again...

* * *

**May 15, 2023**

"Okay you guys, we have enough Col (money) to buy a guild home!" Chang announces. Everyone in the guild cheers and applause. "Finally! I'm tired of moving from town to town to stay in inns. Can I pick out the furniture and decorations?" Lance said. Snix snorted and rolled her eyes at his excitement. "Calm down there Porcelain. Let's first buy the house before you go all teen gay on us." Snix teased. Everyone laughed while Lance rolled his eyes at her. By now, they were all used to Snix's sarcastic attitude and little banters. Chang then clapped his hands to get their attention. "Okay, so we have around thirty thousand Col. That's more than enough to buy the house. I was thinking Snix could go buy a new base for our home somewhere in the Lower Floor while we stay here." He said. Zizes rose her hand and waited for Chang to acknowledge her. "Why don't we use some of that left over money to upgrade Tay's equipment. I think it's about time she steps up. She can't be depending on Snix to come to her rescue all the time." She said in a bored tone. She grunted when Snix glared at her. "That's a good idea Zizes. We'll go upgrade Tay's stuff." Chang says.

Tay shakes her head with a soft smile. "No, it's okay. I don't need to upgrade my stuff. I'm fine with what I have." She tries to argue. Zizes sighs and says, "Tay, you can't expect to be protected all the time. You're already the weakest member of the guild, so at least get strong weapons."

"How about you calm down over there Poppin' Fresh before the poachers mistake you for the endangered white rhino! Now leave Tay alone please, a'fores I ends you." Snix said in a sarcastic tone with a fake sweet smile on her face. Zizes growled and stood up, challenging Snix to do the same. Before either girl could take a step towards each other, the rest of the guild was already between them. "Hey, hey calm down you two. We can't be fighting among ourselves. Snix, how about you go check out bases for the house?" Billy suggested. Snix rolled her eyes at him and turned around, heading out of the room. "I'm only going because you asked Wonder Twin. I'll be back later. Zizes better be calm when I come back. I have no problem going Lima Heights on her ass." She said, walking out.

She groaned in annoyance once she was outside of the inn and headed to the exit gate. She teleported down to the Eleventh Floor, remembering that she once saw a nice base for their house one time. She wondered if it was still on sale as she headed her way.

Back with her guild, everyone was getting Zizes to calm down. "Who does she think she is?! I'm one of the strongest in this guild. I can take her on easily." Zizes muttered. Chang sighed and crossed his arms. He didn't get why those two didn't get along often. It was when Sugar finally spoke up, that Zizes seemed to calm down a bit. "How about we impress Snix by showing how strong we've gotten? Lets go to the Higher Floors and get more money! We can also show her that we can level up on our own!" She said. Everyone seemed to like this idea as they all nodded and shared their agreement. All except for Tay. "I don't think that's a good idea. The only reason we can make it up on the Higher Floors is because Snix is with us. I don't know if we're good enough yet to be up there without her." She said shyly. Flannagan laughed and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her out with the rest of the guild. "Don't worry Tay. We'll be fine." He said.

"Okay, I'll take it!" Snix said. The man nodded and smiled as he stretched his hand out to shake hers. "Great! It'll be fifteen Col!" He said. Snix opened her menu and went to her money, giving the man the amount he asked. She was buying the new base for their guild home right now, the one she had spotted before, when an alert message appeared for her. "What the..." Just as she opened it, her guild icon began blinking and Snix's face went pale. She opened the alert and her smile dropped. **The New Directions is trapped in Floor Twenty Eight. **_What the fuck are they doing that far up?! _Snix thought to herself. Taking the key form the man, and seeing that Zizes health bar was rapidly dropping, she started running, pulling out a teleport crystal. "Teleport Floor Twenty Eight!" She yelled. The crystal broke into shards as it surrounded her, taking her to the desired place, and she began running, following her guild's icon in the map. She grit her teeth when she saw Zizes name disappear from her friend list and she picked up her screen. _Fuck... Hang in there guys. Hold on Tay. I'm coming. _Snix kept running, entering the labyrinths of the floor, when Sugar's name disappeared from her list as well. "Shit!" She cried out, drawing out her sword. She was just around the corner when she was able to hear the rest of her guild's cry. "Tay! Chang!" Snix yelled out, opening the sealed door and going in, killing off two monsters right door sealed off again and Tay looked at Snix and let a tear fall out as she saw Snix there. "Snix, how did you kno- how did you find us?" Chang asked, struggling as he fought off a monster. Just then, they heard Flannagan cry out as a monster slashed him, killing him. Snix grunted and felt rage filling her up as she kept swinging and swinging her sword. It felt like she was getting nowhere. There were too many. She turned to look at the rest of the remaining guild members. Billy and Lance had their backs pressed against each other as they fought off the monsters. _Okay, they seem to manage okay._

Snix thought to herself. She let out a grunt when she felt a jab at her back, a monster striking her, and she quickly ducked, kicking the monster in front of her away before turning around and killing the other behind her. She looked at Chang and saw him manage to fight his number of monsters. It wasn't until she heard a shriek that she looked up again. "Tay!" Snix and Chang yelled out. A monster had cut off Tay's arm off, causing her to stumble back and get cornered. Snix killed two monsters in front of her as she then ran towards Tay. She saw her HP slowly dimishing, and began to felt the tears coming. Her eyes were beginning to glisten when she took another hit and saw Tay get stabbed in the back. _  
_

Snix felt as if everything stopped. She couldn't hear any of the other guild members yell at her, telling her the door was open again, and they could escape. She couldn't see the monsters coming at her. All she could see was Tay's body, beginning to disintegrate, as she had a sad smile on her face. Slowly falling, Tay opened her words and said something, but Snix couldn't hear what she was saying. No noise was coming out of her mouth. Tay finally disintegrated, and Snix was standing there, looking where Tay was not too long ago in disbelief, when she finally heard Chang. "Snix! The door is open!" He cried out. Snix gritted her teeth before letting out an angered yell and charged for the rest of the monsters. She quickly changed her weapon for her strongest weapon, Elucidator. She activated a sword skill, and with that single sword skill, she managed to kill four monsters at the same time. Not caring if the guild was seeing her true power now, she easily killed off the rest of the monsters. Once there were no monsters left, the room went back from red, to blue. Snix was standing in the middle of the room and dropped to her knees, her sword falling next to her, as she looked down while still trying to process what just happened.

A few minutes went by when she heard the footsteps of the others approach her. She picked up her sword, and stood up. Without looking at them, and ignoring their questions, she walked out of the room. She ignored their shouts of calling her back, and continued walking. Four of those guild members died. All because of her. Because of her, as a guild, they were as strong as the upper guilds, which is why they fell for such a song trap room. _It's all my fault. My arrogance killed you all. I'm so sorry Tay... I broke my promise to you... I really am sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen._ Snix thought to herself.

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So we have more character development from our main character here. Hope this is what you were asking. What did you guys think? I'm still not sure if I should continue this or not but if I see more people at least follow the story, then I will, or if I see many more reviews. Thanks! :)


	4. The Stone of Returning Souls

Decided to give one more chapter since I had already started on it. Lol. Enjoy.

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Chapter Four

**December 24, 2023**

"So do you know where the boss is?" asked Snix, hiding her face with a hood. She was sitting down on a bench discreetly talking to someone who was standing behind her, leaning on the bench. The person pulled their cloak a bit before answering. "They have the higher guilds looking all over the Floors but can't find him. Supposedly the boss will appear by midnight under some fern tree or something. I don't know. I do know his name is Nicholas the Renegade and if you beat him, you get this item called The Stone of Returning Souls." He said. Snix snorted and then stood up, fixing her own cloak. "Some broker you are, Stoner." She said, beginning to walk away. Stoner then turned around and crossed his arms with a frown on his face.

"You know where the boss is, don't you?" He asked. When he got no answer in return, he pulled his hood down. "Oh come on dude, tell me where it is. I can get some serious Col with this info man! Besides, I don't think going solo is a smart idea..." He trailed off as Snix walked away from him. She headed to the inn she was currently staying at and locked her door. She opened her menu and looked at her equipment, searching for her favorite and strongest sword, The Elucidator, and putting on some fingerless gloves. _I need to figure out what Tay said... It's my fault she died... It's my fault Chang died..._

**_Snix had walked out of the dungeon and headed into the town gates when Chang, and as she liked to call them, The Wonder Twins caught up. "What was that back there in the dungeon Snix?" Lance asked. Snix didn't bother turning around and face them. She knew they were in shock and angry. "Why was that trap room so difficult to get out from? How come you were able to find us quickly?" Chang asked, his voice cracking. Snix then took a deep breath and turned to face him. She saw Chang struggling to hold in his tears as he glared at her. She let the breath go and looked down again. "Normally, you guys would've done fine getting out of there if it wasn't a level based trap." She said. Billy stepped forward with a confused look. "But we're all around the early twenty's. That trap room was way higher than us, even for this Floor Level." He said. Snix sighed and looked back at the remaining three of The New Directions. _**

**_"It's because of me... If I weren't a part of your guild, the guild level wouldn't be so high." When she got confused looks from them she let out a bitter laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. "When I first joined you guys, I was in level Forty, meaning that the minute I joined your guild, its level went ten up. I'm now in Level Forty-Five. So it probably went two or three more levels up. I'm really sorry. I didn't think something like this would happen!" Snix tried to explain. Chang then walked in front of her and let a tear fall as he continued to glare at her._**

**_Lance and Billy were still standing behind, unsure of how to take this news. "You're a beater... It makes sense now. You had no right to be with us Snix! Because of you, we lost half of our friends! I lost Tay! What's the point now?! You know, the only reason I stayed alive and tried to be as strong as I could, was to get Tay out of this stupid death game?! She was my reason! You took that from me Snix. What am I supposed to do now?" He cried. Snix looked down in guilt, and closed her eyes, stopping from any tears from falling. She looked up though when she heard Billy and Lance. "Chang, what are you doing?!" They exclaimed. Snix turned to see Chang step over the edge of the tower, before looking at them. "Wait, Chang!" Snix yelled, running over to him. But she was too late. Chang jumped off the tower, and he disintegrated. Snix stood there in shock. She didn't want to believe she just saw that. She hesitantly turned around to see Lance crying on Billy's shoulder._**

**_"Wonde- Billy... I really am sorry." Snix tried. Billy wrapped an arm around Lance and shook his head. "Don't... not yet at least. It's far too soon to be asking for forgiveness. I do think it's best if you leave us though. Maybe some day, if we're still in this game and we're all alive and see each other again, maybe we'll be able to forgive you." Billy said and walked away with Lance._**

That was the last time Snix had seen or heard from them. It's been a little over five months since the incident and Snix still couldn't come around and forgive herself for what happened. What made her feel worse was that she broke the very promise she made Tay. _Auntie Snix never lets any of her party members die huh? You're full of it Snix... you couldn't keep a simple promise to a girl you became close to as friends. What if that was Fletcher? I made that same promise to her too. _Snix thought to herself. She checked the time and got up when she saw she had only two more hours before the boss appeared._  
_

**Floor Thirty Five, Forest of Wandering**

Snix was heading towards the Floor's dungeon through the forest, when she heard some branches snap at a distance from her. She stopped walking and let her advance hearing track in what direction the sound came from. She stealthily pulled out two small knives and steadied herself for any surprise ambushes. "You can put those knives back in your belt. I'm not gonna jump you or anything." said a familiar voice. Snix's head snapped to the left and was surprised when she saw Fletcher standing there, arms crossed, sticking her hip out a bit, and with a small smirk on her face. Snix felt her heart begin to race as she took in the blonde's appearance now. _She's changed so much... but still as beautiful as I remember. _Snix thought to herself.

Fletcher's hair was more blonde than brown now, and longer than when they first met. She was still wearing the same clothes except for now, she sported a white jacket with red lining. "So you know where the boss is, don't you?" Fletcher asked. Snix tensed at that, remembering why she was doing this alone. "Maybe. So what if I do?" She asked in a cold tone. Fletcher looked a bit taken back by the sudden change of demeanor but decided to brush it off with a softer smile. "I'm asking so I can join you. I've heard that the boss is pretty strong. Going solo might not be a good idea Snix." Fletcher said. Snix shook her head and walked past the blonde. Before she could enter to dungeon's portal, she stopped when she heard another familiar voice.

"You know, your partner there's right. You can't do this solo Snix. It would be suicide. I say, we all go together and beat this thing. Whoever gets an item keeps it. Isn't that fair?" Saw asks, his own guild behind him. Fletcher smiles at him and turns back to Snix, nodding her head in agreement with Saw; however, Snix only sighs and looks down. "Then this would be all for nothing. I have to do this alone. I need that stone... I need to hear what she was telling me... and Fletcher isn't my partner. I'm a solo player." Snix whispered. Fletcher's smile then dropped and she took a step forward Snix. She went to place her hand on Snix's shoulder but stopped herself. Snix let out a sigh before looking at Fletcher and Saw and his guild. Before she could say anything else, a small armada appeared, weapons at hand. "Looks like you two weren't the only ones being followed." Snix said, pulling her sword out. Fletcher scoffed while drawing her sword, while Saw chuckled and motioned for his guild to get ready to fight. "I guess so Snix. Listen, we got you covered. You go fight that boss and get that item. This is The Oral Intensity Guild. They'll do anything for a rare item and I'm pretty sure they're thinking of getting that stone. Go!" Saw said, taking a step forward. Snix hesitated but when she saw Fletcher take a step forward to and give her a look, Snix nodded and ran deeper into the forest until she found the fern tree was going to be appearing at. She looked up when she heard a screeching whistle like noise and got into her fighting stance. Once the large boss landed, Snix charged full force at it.

Meanwhile, back with Fletcher and Saw, they were struggling a bit to keep from any of the OI guild to pass from them and get to Snix and the boss. Saw had just kicked back a soldier form the other guild when he heard someone cry out. He looked over for a second to see Fletcher rapidly swinging her sword, and taking out three soldiers all at the same time. "Damn, she's fucking good." He mumbled to himself, not paying attention when another soldier of the OI guild ran to him. "Watch out!" Fletcher yelled, using a sword skill with a knife, throwing at the soldier going for Saw and hitting his leg. Saw turned to look at the soldier and then at Fletcher who shook his head at him. He let out a goofy grin and then went back to fighting off soldiers.

"You know, you should just give up. From the looks of this, your guild won't hold out much longer." Fletcher said, parrying her sword with the guild's leader. The guild leader grunted but when he looked around and saw what Fletcher was saying was true, he withdrew and called back his men. "Oral Intensity, we're retreating. Just keep in mind that if we ever bump into you guys, we will get back at you for today." He said, leaving with his guild. Saw sighed in relief as he and his men flopped down onto the floor. "Man, I thought they were never gonna give up." Saw said. Fletcher shook her head and walked to stand next to where he was sitting. They stayed quiet for a few seconds when Saw spoke up again. "Why were you following Snix?" He asked.

Fletcher looked down at him but he was only looking ahead, regaining back his full HP. She sighed and put her sword back in it's place by her hip. "I don't know. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find her here. I was with some other people, we spread out and I happened to see her come into the dungeon, so I decided to follow her. What about you?" She asked back. Saw leaned back on his hands and crossed his legs as he looked back at the blonde. "Same reason. But then I saw you following her, so I followed you with my guild." He answered. Fletcher hummed in response and crossed her arms. She turned around and faced the direction Snix had run off to. "She'll be fine." Saw said, as if he was reading her mind. Fletcher immediately blushed and looked at Saw giving her a soft smile. She returned the smile and turned back around and began walking away. Saw frowned and moved to stand up when she spoke up. "I have to get back to my group. They're probably worried. And it's just like you said... she'll be fine. She's managed this far being a solo player. I don't think she'll care if I left or not." Fletcher said, walking away.

Saw sighed and leaned back again. He stayed on the floor while his guild waited on him when he saw Snix's form walking back. "Hey! You did it! Wha-" He stopped when Snix tossed him an item. He looked at at before tapping it and seeing its label. **The Stone of Returning Souls: Use within a day someone dies. **"Use it the next time you see someone die..." Snix mumbled as she continued walking. She looked around for a bit and looked back at Saw confused. "Where's Fletcher?" She asked. Saw hesitated before giving her a sad smile. "She left." He said. He saw the hurt in her eyes for a bit before she looked disappointed. "Oh..." was all Snix said. Saw then walked up and called his guild over. "Don't you dare die on me Snix. Not now, not ever. Okay?" He asked. Snix saw the worry in his eyes and finally let out a small smile. "Yeah, sure... don't die on me too Saw."

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I'm actually enjoying writing this, so idc if there aren't many people reading this. I want to finish it. Hahahah. To those who are actually reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, thanks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Till next time!


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